LAP Lambert Academic Publishing What drives military expenditure?: Evidence from Zimbabwe and the SADC region

While the determinants of military expenditure are well documented in developing countries in general, but little is known about individual African countries. The thesis attempts to discover the major factors and influences on budgetary allocations to the military. Two main approaches were used, econometric (chapters 3 and 5) and qualitative (chapters 7 and 8). Chapter 1 and 2 present the introduction and a literature survey respectively. In Chapter 3 we investigated cross-country determinants of military expenditure in southern Africa. A political economy of military spending trends in Zimbabwe was discussed in Chapter 4. This laid a foundation for a time series estimation of determinants of military expenditure in Zimbabwe in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 reviews public choice theory and empirical military budgetary studies in Africa. Chapter 7 and 8 involve a qualitative inquiry that complements the earlier chapters on econometric studies. This part utilised data obtained from informal interviews and interactions with key informants and evidence from documentary sources. Finally, Chapter 9 summarises the main determinants of military expenditure and offers some policy proposals. About the Author Dr Zachary Tambudzai has taught economics at a number of Universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa since 1998. The universities include the University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Open University,Durban University of Technology, Midlands State University and University of KwaZulu Natal. He has published referred journal articles on various economic issues